Loyalty
by TriciaKurosawa
Summary: I'll follow you, so long as I'm not left alone... LokiXOC
1. Chapter 1

And so it begins; my first LokiXOC story. (Well, technically, the OC is me, but still...) I was nervous about actually posting this, but I decided "Oh, what the hell~" Hopefully, the more chapters I submit, the more positive feedbacks I can receive.

I don't even know what I'm saying anymore. It's four in the morning. Without further adieu, here is the first chapter. Not much happens at first, but I hope to pick that up in future chapters.

* * *

A sole object lit up the dark world. It was the dead of night, and armored men with guns patrolled the area. However, I was drawn to the tent that the soldiers surrounded. Security was more tight inside. They all seemed to circle... a hammer? It was not the type of hammer that people use on nails, but more of the sort that nerds used for their role-playing games.

For some strange reason, it was this hammer that I was being drawn to. I cannot explain precisely why. I simply had the urge to walk towards this direction. All of the steps that I have taken to get here is more than the steps I would take in a week. Honestly, I am not a very active person whatsoever; why are my feet not cramping at this point?

Anyhow, back to the hammer. Why is it sitting handle-up in the dirt, as though it's been stuck there for some time? Are these FBI-esque people guarding it? Now that I thought about it, the entire place seemed to be built around this weapon. Why would I be drawn to something under the watch of the government, and how has no one spotted me yet?

As I stood outside the entrance, my eyes were glued on the object of interest. Just something about it seemed intriguing, like a book. It might have a pretty cover, but there was something deeper on the pages inside. However, it would seem that the hammer was not even my objective, but the story that followed it.

Someone stood in front of the hammer, preventing me from staring at it any longer. Instead, I stared at the man. The details were a bit hazy, but he seemed to be some sort of businessman from behind. The man stared down at the hammer, presumably studying it. I assumed that he was one of the government people, but for some odd reason, he seemed to be out of place. He attempted to pick up the hammer, but it stayed in place, as though it was one with the earth. Then again, the man was rather scrawny, so he probably was not used to picking anything up half his own weight.

It took me a moment to realize that the man was staring back at me. He seemed surprised, and that only surprised me in return, since he was the first and only person in that place to realize that I was there. Feeling completely on the spot, I slowly backed away, unsure of what to do.

"How can you see me?"

I was startled by the voice. Turning around, I found that the man was behind me. I did not feel like I was completely there, for I could not remember that much details of him, despite being a couple of feet away from him. He had dark hair that almost blended in with the night, and he had eyes that seemed to be a bright turquoise color, but that was all that I was able to register.

"Hehe... Sorry sir," I nervously chuckled, feeling like an inebriated fool. "I didn't mean to stare like that. I don't even know where... what I'm doing... doing here..." Feeling exhausted, I heard a faint siren in the distance. Wait, that was not a siren, but a bell...? No, wait... "An alarm...?" I mumbled, lazily staring up at the sky.

"Sorry? What alarm?" the man asked, but I did not bother responding as I came to a realization.

"Oh, I get it now..." I murmured. "This is all a d-"

Before I could finish my statement, the alarm had dragged me back to reality. Feeling groggy, I reached over to slap the box that blazed bright numbers into my eyes.

Of course it was a dream. Even so, it was one of those that felt real. What happened in it again? It was nighttime, there was a tent, and in it was... a hammer, yeah, and it was stuck in the ground like Excalibur. Something else was there, but the memory was already fading away.

Oh well, I did not have time to think too hard about it. Today was another day, and I had to get up to attend to it.


	2. Chapter 2

Upon watching Thor another time, I've realized that this doesn't exactly fit in the time slot too well. Just to squeeze things in a bit, let's delay the Destroyer's appearance on Earth for a couple of days. :P

Also, for some odd reason, the checkmarks keep coming up as blank squares, so you'll have to deal with those. :I

* * *

Alright, let us scan over the checklist.

Buy groceries (weekly only)✓

Sell ~$10 worth of items at Goodwill✓

Attempt to claim child support

Pay internet bill✓

Buy lunch

Apply for jobs✓

True, I may have regretted selling my game system, but I needed the extra cash. Besides, it was not a necessity. I still had the television, so I should be okay in entertainment, right?

Anyhow, I had more money than I usually had. Though it would be more wise to save the money, I felt as though I should celebrate by buying lunch that was not fast food.

It was difficult, but I eventually decided to go to _Le Chat Noir_, a family-styled restaurant that had the feel of a café. Based on a vague memory I had from when I last went there, they had the best chocolate milk. I know it seems silly to go eat somewhere based on a beverage, but I think in these times, the one thing to help calm the storm is a glass of chocolate milk.

Pulling into the parking lot, I parked in a vacant spot. I still had to get my permanent driver's license, but I was not too sure of who to call in order to take the test. Actually, I was not sure whether or not it was even legal for me to drive alone with my temps, especially considering that I was eighteen. As long as I had a direct path between one place to the other – and I was extremely careful – I should be alright.

Turning off the engine, I got out of the car and closed the door. As the doors automatically locked, I entered the restaurant. Being greeted by the cool air upon entering, an employee at the front counter spotted me.

"Welcome," she greeted with a soft smile, "a party of one?"

Nodding, I silently replied, "Yeah." Grabbing a menu, she led me to a small table that resided by a large window. Honestly, I was a little thankful in the lady's choice of where to sit me, for I liked observing all sorts of people pass by.

As I sat down, the lady asked me, "Can I get you started on anything?"

"Can I get chocolate milk?" I asked, a hint of enthusiasm in my voice. Immediately afterward, I felt a bit silly and blushed, looking down at the table.

As she sat the menu on my table, the employee responded, "Alright, a waiter will be with you shortly." With that, she walked away, leaving me alone.

Pulling the strap off over my head, I sat my messenger bag on my lap. As I opened the bag, I multitasked as I scanned the menu. Though there were many options, I was an incredibly picky eater, so my choices were limited. I decided on an eight-piece chicken nugget meal.

For a brief moment, I was distracted by the people that walked by outside. It was still amusing how I liked to watch activities that occur in the world. It is confusing, truthfully, but it was like observing a cover of several stories as they passed by.

Then I remembered my dream from the previous night. It was still clear in my mind, though a bit hazy, if that made any sense. I pulled a pencil and sketchbook out of my bag and sat them on the table. I never had any inspiration to draw as of late, so I figured that I would at least sketch out a screenshot of my dream. Glancing outside the window once more, I began to sketch out the first thing that popped into my mind: the hammer.

After a few minutes, I almost did not realize the waitress that stood by my side until she spoke, saying, "Here's your drink, ma'am." Surprised, I pulled my book towards me as I looked up at her. She picked up a saucer with a teacup on it and placed it on my table.

"Thank you," I said softly, staring down at the cup. It was really fancy, just for a cup of chocolate milk. The last time that I was here, they gave me chocolate milk in a colorful cup with a bendy straw. Of course, I was not a kid any longer, so of course they would give me something more sophisticated.

Looking over, the waitress asked, "Oh, I'm sorry sir, did you order a drink as well?" I looked back up at her, quite confused. It seemed fairly rude of her to serve more than one table at a time, but I have never been a waitress, so what do I know? Besides, I was almost certain that I was sitting far away from other customers.

"I'll have some green tea, please."

The voice was awfully close. Looking over, I found that a man was sitting across from me. How long was he there? Was I really caught up in my drawing to barely pay attention to him? That's not the point. What was he doing sitting at my table?

"Alright then, one cup of green tea, coming up," the waitress responded before walking away. Wait, she did know that I was a one-person party, right? I glanced at the man again. What was I going to do? A simple "Who the hell do you think you are?" was not going to surface out of my mouth any time soon. Being a very timid person has come with a deadly price.

Realizing that I had been – unintentionally – glaring at him for a minute, the man said, "I'm sorry, but I really wanted a seat by the window. I promise I won't have you pay for my drink."

"Okay..." I hesitantly replied. Wait, this was not okay! He was sitting at my table! Now that the thought was suggested, he probably would leave me to pay for his drink. He was like one of those scam artists that I had seen on those tv shows.

"What did you get to drink?" the man asked. I was still on alert, trying to be as cautious as possible.

"Umm... Chocolate milk..." I answered quietly, keeping my head down as I pulled my cup towards me.

"Is it any good?" he inquired. It was a surprise that he was able to understand my response. Normally, when I spoke quietly, even if I was attempting to speak up, people have a difficult time making out what I said. At the least, I gave him props for having good hearing.

"I don't know," I lied. Actually, I may have been telling half the truth. It has been awhile since I was last here, so the unique taste of the milk may have changed since then. Despite trying to avoid interaction, I glanced up at him every now and then. The man wore a classy outfit, and he had a scarf that accessorized him. His dark hair was greased back, almost like the stereotyped greasers from the 50's, excluding an unnecessary curl. His eyes looked like they were some sort of blue or-

I instantly looked back down as he made eye contact with me. Holding my cup with both hands, I took a sip of my drink in order to keep my gaze elsewhere. For a moment, I forgot about my uninvited guest. All at once, I remembered the unparalleled taste of _Le Chat Noir_'s chocolate milk. I almost felt like a kid again, taking in joy in the shape of a consumable liquid.

I realized that a faint smile was on my lips as the man chuckled. Setting the cup down, my face instantly became neutral again as I questioned him, "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," he answered, giving a wide smile. (Oh wow, his smile certainly was its own characteristic trait.) "I assume that the milk is indeed good."

"Y-yeah," I mumbled, feeling embarrassed by being caught in such a minor act by this stranger.

"Here you are, sir," the waitress returned as she handed the man his tea. "Are we ready to order, or do you need more time?"

"More time, please," I muttered almost instantly, staring out the window. Once again, she left. Wait, why did I send her off? I supposed I just did not care that I had company anymore. After all, it had been a long time since I actually talked to someone, yet alone, sit at the same table as.

"I think I might like to have what you're having now," the man proposed.

Glancing over at him, I said lowly, "You probably should have told her that while she was still-" My voice trailed off as I observed his movement. Waving his hand over his cup, the transparent, green liquid turned into a thick, cocoa drink. A gasp escaped from me as I said, "Y-you... but how...? Are you a magician?"

"Sort of, yes," the man admitted, though he seemed a bit blate about it.

"That's so cool!" I exclaimed, turning more towards him as my excitement became much apparent. Despite the fact that I was such a secluded person, anyone could simply be excited over simple magic tricks, whether or not how skeptic they were. "How did you do that, though? … Wait, let me guess. "That's for you to know and for me to find out", right?"

"Yes, I suppose," the man chuckled, glancing outside the window. He took a sip of his drink and paused for a moment before commenting, "This is pretty decent. Chocolate mixed with milk, huh? That's highly amusing."

"You've never had chocolate milk before?" I asked him.

"Where I come from, we usually have wine," he explained.

"Ah," I simply replied, not finding anything else to contribute to the conversation. I had to admit that this guy was pretty alright. At the very least, he didn't _really_ seem like some sort of creeper. He was not too bad-looking, either, though he vaguely reminded me of a younger version of Mr. Burns from the Simpsons, somewhat.

"What's that?" he asked.

I noticed that he nodded at my sketchbook, so I responded quietly, "Oh, it's just some drawings."

"Mind if I...?" the man began as he cautiously reached for it.

"Not at all, go for it," I answered, feeling a little flustered. I hardly shared my drawings, especially with complete strangers. As he examined the picture – the one with the "Excalibur hammer" - I noticed a more serious tone morph into his expression.

"Where did you see this?" he asked. It was definitely was a strange question – since most people would have probably asked, "What is this?" – but at the time, I did not really question it.

"It's from a dream that I had last night," I tried to explain. "It was a really bland dream, though. Nothing really happened in it."

"Who's that?" the man asked. He pointed at the silhouette that stood by the hammer.

"Oh, him," I said slowly. "I can't really remember, honestly. I think he was trying to pull out the hammer, or something. He was in mostly dark clothing, as far as I can recall." I felt as though I was leaving out some important details, particularly about the man from the dream. It might have been a facial detail, like a scar, or a mole, or the color of his eyes. The answer might have been staring me right in the face.

No, it was my table-hopper that was staring at me. I must have dozed off again. Feeling discomfited, I took another sip of my chocolate milk before adding, "So yeah, it's just a silly little thing."

"Uh-huh..." the man replied, sounding suspiciously skeptic. After a moment, the man stood from his seat.

Puzzled, I asked him, "Are you leaving?"

"Yes," he answered as he fondled with his pocket, "I actually have business to attend to." He pulled a thin wallet out of his pocket, and he slid out a bill. "This is for my drink," the man explained, giving a soft smile. "Goodbye, Tricia." Before I could wave bye, I noticed the worth of the bill that he placed on the table.

"$20...?" I said. "M-mister, your drink hardly costs that much-" When I looked up, he was already gone. He left as quick as he came. Why did I feel disappointed? I really did enjoy the company, but as always, I was left alone.

Wait a minute, he addressed me by my name. How did he know? Before I could delve deep enough into the mystery, I glanced at my sketchbook. Of course, I signed the corner. Why did I put my signatures on my pictures anyways? It was not like anybody was going to steal them.

I noticed how eerily quiet it became. It had always been this way for me, but for the brief ten minutes that man was here, that feeling changed. Actually, it did not change, but it made me more aware of the fact how much I despised being alone.

Oh well, I should get back to my checklist.


	3. Chapter 3

What's this? I updated a story three consecutive days in a row? (Well, technically, since the first two chapters were typed late at night, overlapping to the next morning.)

I felt a little weird typing this chapter. 1) There's some intense drama, and I think I took it over the top. 2) Loki really doesn't do much.

What? You didn't know that was Loki? SPOILERS~ :O

I hope to actually pick things up in the upcoming chapters.

* * *

With the extra $17 that was left over from the tea-turned-cocoa, I was able to pay for my lunch without using my own money. For a short awhile, my "financial problems" might be fixed. When I get home, I should put all of my savings in a secret spot so I would have enough money for the bills.

It had almost been half an hour before I felt the restaurant. After I settled in my car, I turned on the engine so I could get the air conditioner running. As I waited for the car to cool down, I examined my list. It said that all I had to do today was try to collect my child support. (For myself, of course; I have no children, thank goodness.) In all honesty, I did not feel like attempting this at all. I was having a good day so far, and a simple phone call towards a futile effort would change all of it. Just to make it "official", I crossed the task off of my list, a sample of my fury visible in the thick, overlapping lines. Setting the list to the side, I pulled out of the parking lot.

At the first stoplight, I hastily scanned through the radio stations, hoping for a good song to come on. When this was not accomplished, I sighed as I turned it off. I would have listened to my iPod, but the charger for it mysteriously vanished, and I could not risk wasting any of my money, so the portable music player would have to stay dead for awhile.

When the light turned green, I continued my journey home. Though it would have been a much shorter trip to take the freeway, going almost seventy miles-per-hour on a wide road where cars are everywhere absolutely terrified me. Actually, driving in general was a bit scary for me, even though I was getting used to it. Instead, I would take the back roads home.

Driving uphill, my day took an ironic downfall as the car turned itself off. "Shit," I mumbled as I took out the key. This was the third time this month that Betty – the Voltswagon Jetta – threw a fit and would stop altogether. I would get the engine fixed, but, once again, due to saving money, I decided otherwise. Besides, it did not seem like such a big deal. All cars have their flukes, right?

I checked my rear-view mirror for cars. There did not seem to be any vehicles for miles on end, so that gave me enough time to get back into motion. I placed the key back into the engine and began the fight of my life with Betty. We each took turns throwing names and slanders at one another, but the old girl stayed proud and defiant. (Wow, am I that desperate to narrate a simple action to the extreme?) Upset, I slammed the steering wheel with both my hands, and the car honked. Honestly, why do I deal with this old piece of crap anymore?

Wait a minute, I slammed on the steering wheel, not the horn. How did Betty honk herself, or was that even the car? I checked behind me, but there were no other cars. With the utmost distress, a thought occurred to me: What hill was I on? Looking out the window, I found that Betty had settled on a railway.

Convenient.

The train had given its preceding warning, but it was nowhere in sight. Believing that I still had time, I returned to – as I have previously mentioned, only with more exaggeration – the fight of my life with Betty.

"Come on, girl," I pleaded as I tried desperately to start the engine. At one point, I thought that I had succeeded, but the car had shut down again. "Come on!" I shouted at the steering wheel.

At this point, it was useless. Looking out the window, I was shocked at how close the train was. It was inevitable; I had to leave poor old Betty behind. As I grabbed my bag, I reached for my seat belt. My heart skipped a beat as I realized the buckle was jammed. This happened a couple of times beforehand as well. Did I mention how convenient this all was?

Releasing my bag from my grip, I tried to tug the seat belt off. It was of no use, so I chose the option to crawl out of my restraints. As I got one foot out, the railroad lights went off, causing me to panic. While trying to free my other foot, I tried to save some time by opening the door.

I need a synonym for "convenient" because I keep on saying it with the utmost sarcasm. Now the door was jammed. There was no reasoning behind this! This had to be a terrible scene from Final Destination brought to life. "Death doesn't like to be cheated", right? Now that I thought about it, there was that one time when-

Suddenly, my door was literally ripped open, making it hang by a single hinge. "What are you doing?" somebody hissed.

I looked out, eyes widened. "You..." I whispered. It was the magician from the restaurant. My attention shifted to the train, which was less than a mile away. Without warning, the man grabbed my shirt and pulled me out of the car. Nearly tripping over the railing, I had to hop forward a little until I regained my balance. Gasping, I turned around as I exclaimed, "My bag...!"

The man pulled me back as the train ran over Betty. Parts and scraps were scattered all around, and tires were shot down the road. If I had not been pulled back, I would have surely gotten hit by one of the many pieces that flew in the sky.

I stood there, bewildered. Betty was dead. My bag was in the passenger seat. That bag held my sketchbook, the house key, and my money. I was only four minutes away from home, and it was going to be the greatest day that I have had in such a long time. Including a terrible train accident caused by a semi-licensed person, I had hit rock-bottom once again.

There was no point in sticking around. I had to get home before it went dark. As my eyes cramped, I slowly turned around and began to walk home.

"Hey, where are you going?" the man demanded, reminding me of his presence.

Not bothering to look back, my voice shook as I said, "Oh yeah... Thanks for your help. I'm just going to go watch TV, or... something..."

"Do you want me to walk you home?" the man asked, stalking after me. I really did not feel like dealing with this at the moment.

"No, I'm fine, I... I'll be fine," I replied, though I felt the reassurance was directed at me.

Suddenly, I felt an incredible urge to run home. Acting on that urge, I sprinted up the road. I kept running and running and running, hardly stopping for anything.

All I had to get was a minimum of $10. If I sold items around the house daily, I should have enough money collected by the end of the month for the bills. The game system – and all of the video games that were playable on it – gave me almost $200. It could have given me a break from the bills for about three months. At least, that was what I believed.

Before I knew it, I ran into the front door of my house. I was home at last, but there was the problem of getting in. For some reason, my memory was failing or something, for I entered my house without much explanation. It was probably due to stress.

Exhausted, I sat down on the couch. A two-story building with two living rooms, two restrooms, a kitchen, and four bedrooms, and I was living all alone in it. My entire family – on my mother's side – went missing. There were no clues of their whereabouts. They just disappeared off the face of the Earth. I was left alone to take care of myself.

I was too scared to leave. It did not matter what situation I was in – I was always unprepared. Now that I had no car, as well as possibly causing damage to government property, I had no idea where to go from there.

"Mom," I whimpered, my eyelids feeling heavy, "I just can't do this anymore..." As I laid on my side, curling into the fetal position, I proceeded to cry. "Why aren't you here? It's... It's not fair!"

I thought about just sleeping on this couch and waiting until I died of starvation. No one would notice. How can you tell that someone invisible had died?

No, what am I thinking? I could not think this way. I had to keep going, and I had to keep on trying. Besides, that man gave me another chance to live my life, so it would not be fair for me to put that to waste. Now that I thought about it, it was really expedient that he was there to save me in time. I felt really pathetic for not being able to properly thank him. I never really learned his name.

With fatigue taking over, I closed my eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry that this was a bit late. I was midway through it when I found a person that wanted to do a LokixOC RP with me. I was a bit drawn into it, but my Loki's been offline for almost 84 hours. We didn't even get far in the RP. n Oh well, I got two other Loki RPers. Anyhow, it honestly distracted me from this story. Honestly, trying to keep up with four different plots with the same two characters isn't that simple.

Anyway, here it is now. :3

* * *

When I woke up, the first thing that I detected was that I was not laying on any sort of surface, but I balanced on something with my shoulders and my knees. Slowly waking up, I realized that the sun was beginning to set. Taking in my surroundings, I noticed that I was being carried. Aghast, I wiggled my way out of the person's grip, landing feet-first on the ground. Unable to keep my balance, I fell back on my butt and hands. After getting over the brief pain from my landing, I looked up to discover that it was the magician that was carrying me.

"Are you alright...?" he asked, about to lower down to my level. Hastily, I crawled onto my feet before standing up.

"I-I'm fine," I answered, trying to avoid any sort of contact. "What were you doing?"

Straightening his back, the man expressed confusion on his face. Then, flashing a wide smile on his face, he faintly laughed as he stated, "I was going to take you home."

"I was already home..." I said lowly, leering at the man. Was he truly expecting to kidnap me without me realizing?

"No, you weren't," he explained. "You were on your way, after the accident, but you passed out." He noticed how skeptic I was through my expression, so he sighed as he pointed down the road. "See? It only happened a few minutes ago. We didn't walk too far." By his direction, I saw that the railroad was a little ways down the hill. The remains of my car were hardly visible. Only the caboose of the train was in sight, though it was motionless, so the engineer at least stopped when he recognized what just happened.

"Oh..." I simply said. Now that I thought about it, I scarcely remembered how I got home. I knew that I kept on running until I mysteriously appeared in my house. That was hardly believable, so I supposed that was simply a dream. "Sorry," I apologized, looking down as I fidgeted my thumbs past one another.

"There's no need to apologize," the man assured me as he approached me. Feeling instantly bashful, I took a step back to make some space as I kept my eyes down. "Can you walk?"

"Yeah," I answered. I figured that if I said otherwise, he would have offered to carry me again, which is rather amusing and embarrassing at the same time. Even so, I would probably react badly to the situation, fearing that I would be dropped on my head. (It would not be as bad as being demolished by a speeding train, but still.)

"Come on, then. I'll walk you home," the man offered. I did not want to feel any more rude than I was originally treating him as, so I merely nodded as we walked up the side of the road. Speaking of rude, it was rather impolite of me to keep on referring to him as "the man" or "the magician". Surely, he had a name, right?

"I'm sorry," I forced myself to say, my voice cracking as I briefly broke my normal speaking level, "I didn't catch the name of my hero."

Grinning, he chuckled as he added, "No you did not..." He paused, as though he had to think it over. I looked at him, wondering whether or not he remembered who he was. Regaining his composure, he glanced at me as he answered, "It's Loki."

"Loki?" I repeated, finding myself giggling. "What kind of name is that?"

"What kind of name is Tricia?" he countered.

Thinking for a moment, I explained, "Tricia comes from Patricia, which is the feminine form of Patrick. It means... noble, I think? So... yeah."

Loki had his eyebrows raised before slowly replying, "That's... remarkable. Where I come from, our surnames simply state our heritage." This must have been the second or third time that he indirectly mentioned that he was not from around here. Judging by his accent, in the most general way possible, I figured that he was from Europe.

"By the way," I added, "thanks for pronouncing my name right."

Looking surprised once again, Loki asked, "Pronouncing it right?"

"Yeah," I said, "usually, people say it with three syllables instead of two."

"Oh," Loki replied, "then you are very welcome."

For the next few minutes, the walk was silent. Neither of us had anything else to say. I felt more guilty though, since I had a few questions of my own, like how he happened to be by the railway. Once again, my personality had taken advantage of me.

"Are you alright?" I looked up, realizing that Loki was ahead of me by two paces.

"Y-yeah," I answered, taking a few swift strides in order to catch up with him, "sorry."

Chuckling, Loki stated, "You do love apologizing for everything, don't you?"

"I do? Sorry-" I replied, but soon stopped myself in order to prevent proving a point. To this, Loki laughed even more. I looked away, feeling my entire face redden. "It's not funny."

"No," Loki said, "but it certainly is amusing." Keeping my gaze away, I bit my lip, mortified. Why would I be embarrassed over a little thing like this? It was not a bad thing that I wanted to be polite, but perhaps I was always too polite. I never wanted to be on anybody's bad side. It was rather ironic, considering that I sometimes think very negatively of few people. "Anyhow," Loki continued, "I believe this is yours." From his other side, he pulled out an object. Curious, I looked over to examine it, and my surprise became evident.

"My bag!" I exclaimed, a hint of joy in my voice. As Loki handed the messenger bag to me, I grabbed it before opening it, checking its contents. Everything was still intact.

"Th... But... The train, it should've..." I gagged, trying to come to an understanding. "I mean, thank you, but how...?"

"I grabbed it when I pulled you out," Loki explained. For some reason, that boat did not rock with me. He never actually entered the car, and he never reached over me, so the possibility for him to grab my bag was slim to none. Then again, it was a completely stressful moment. He could have grabbed it while I was distracted.

"Thank you," I said softly, faintly smiling as I pulled the strap over my head. He certainly saved my ass, once again. It was all too convenient. I supposed that I should count my lucky stars, considering how low the quantity was.

"Is this it?" Loki asked. Looking up, I realized that we stood on the front lawn before my house. I must have absentmindedly walked us here during our scattered conversation.

"Yeah," I answered. Opening my bag, I dug around, looking for the key, until I successfully retrieved it. After unlocking the door, I stood in the door frame before looking back at Loki. Smiling diffidently, I said, "Thanks for walking me home, and for everything else."

Grinning, Loki shrugged as he responded, "The pleasure was all mine." We both stood there, unsure of who would make the first move. My legs soon reminded me how fatigued they were, so I made the first move, waving bye to him before closing the door.

Locking myself in, I stood in the dark, staring at the wooden door in thought. True, I arrived home safe and sound – on the most part – and I still had the bill money, but there was still trouble. Eventually, the train accident would be linked back to me. What would I do at that point? What sort of trouble would I be in? The last thing that I would ever want is to be in trouble. No matter how serious or ridiculous it was, I do not think I would be able to handle all the stress. Despite these exertions, there was a question that seemed to poke at me from behind.

Who was Loki?


	5. Chapter 5

Hooray for Dr. Pepper~

Not only is it my favorite drink, but it's also an incredible sponsor for Marvel Studios. I'm still attempting to get the cans with Loki on them, but thus far, I got Black Widow and Thor.

Anyhow, in this chapter, things are starting to pick up, both on Loki's end, as well as our protagonist's end. o3o

* * *

I paid for my internet earlier that day, so with haste, I turned on my laptop. As it powered up, displaying the brand's logo, I looked at the cover. It was covered in stickers, though most of them were faded. Deciding that spectating the decoration was not good enough to pass the time, I dashed into the kitchen. Opening the fridge, I grabbed me a cool can of Dr. Pepper.

It seemed to be an eon ago that I was last desperate to hop onto the internet. With all the "chores" that I have to perform day-by-day, I had to drop a few of my hobbies. I supposed that it was a good thing, since beforehand, I would literally linger all around the internet, finding nothing to do. This time, I had a certain topic that I wanted to look into.

Returning to the living room – can in hand – the computer was prepared to log me in. After inserting in my password, my desktop was displayed. As I clicked on the Google Chrome icon, I slid off my bag and sat it on the couch. Carrying the laptop with one hand and the pop with the other, I moved to the desk in the self-proclaimed "office room". Arranging myself and the items, I got comfortable in the grey office chair.

"Okay Google," I murmured as I positioned my fingers on the keyboard, "work your magic..." Hoping that I spelled it right, I typed in "Loki". It occurred to me that he never mentioned his last name, so I amused myself as I added "magician". The results for one magician named Loki popped up, but the preview stated that he performed worldwide for over twenty years. My Loki (oh wow, that sounds weird) looked like he was barely in his thirties, so unless he was performing since he was a kid, this was not the right man.

There were no other keywords that I could think of. I knew absolutely nothing about Loki, except that he was a miracle-working magician that never had chocolate milk until today. Deciding to look from a wider scale, I simply searched "Loki". The first result was a link to a Wikipedia page, so I clicked on it. Skimming over the summary, I did not understand what it stated the first time. Reading through more carefully, the article stated that Loki was of Norse mythology. Now that I thought about it, the name did sound familiar from when we learned about various myths during freshmen year. To be fairly honest, I was into all other mythologies – Greek, Egyptian, Japanese – but I cared less about Norse. Even now, I was not too sure why I neglected this subject.

Taking a sip of my drink, I continued to read on. It stated that Loki was a god and/or a jötunn. Curious as to what the other race was, I right-clicked the link and scanned that article separately. I felt foolish for not being able to read whatever the summary said, but I was able to identify the term "giants". Going back to the previous tab, I continued to "decipher" what the article had to say.

I did not know where I was going with this anymore. I wanted to learn more about my "caped crusader", but my imaginative mind got the best of me as it delve into an exotic fantasy story. True, I constantly became lost when it came to complicated words – such as jötunn and Asgard – but it was the story nonetheless that had me hooked.

I continued to idly read. It talked about a war, as well as a cube. At this point, it was even more difficult for me to concentrate, since I rested my head beside the computer. It had been a long, strangely eventful day, and it was almost nine o'clock at night. It would not surprise me if I fell asleep reading the, admittedly, tedious article. Perhaps if I looked up a kids' version on Norse mythology, then I would begin to understand some of these foreign terms.

Before the idea could sink in, my heavy eyes closed, refusing to open again.

It was not too long before I woke up again. Sitting up, I tried to take in the setting. The computer was still on, thought the backlight had dimmed, concluding its inactivity. The Dr. Pepper was a safe distance from the machine. The only light that was left on was the ceiling light.

I figured that it was late at night. However, before I could check the computer for the time, something felt odd. In an environment where I had lingered alone for a long time, the atmosphere said differently.

"Well then, it's about time."

Startled, I jumped before exclaiming, "Would you stop doing that?" First and foremost, I was shocked at how that would be my first reaction, like I was expecting it. Turning around, I saw the inexplicable man that kept appearing around me at the strangest of times. "Loki," I gagged, staring at the walking enigma that stood on the opposite end of the room, "how did you... What are you doing in my house?"

"Actually," Loki said, "I believe the question at hand is 'How are you obtaining that information?'" I noticed the gesture made towards the computer. He wanted to know how I was reading about a character that shared his name...?

"I don't believe you're in the right position to ask any questions," I stated, rising from my seat, "considering you're trespassing."

"No," Loki dissented, giving a cold smirk, "I don't believe _you _are in the position to ask questions, considering you're unconscious."

Raising an eyebrow, I gripped the top of my chair as I muttered, "W-what...? Is that a threat?"

"It is a state of fact," Loki answered as he took a step towards me. Reacting, I stepped back, bumping into the desk. Despite being in an intimidating situation, something from the corner of my eye caught my attention. Someone else sat in my chair. They donned a white-and-purple short-sleeved hoodie, as well as worn-down jeans. Their pale figure lied motionless on the desk. Their head, covered with short, messy brown hair, rested on their arm.

"That's... me..." I breathed. Veraciously, it was a bit disturbing to see myself from a third perspective. Certainly, there had to be a trick to this, right? Wait, what did I say about "third perspective"? My expression changed from dismay to relief as I nervously chuckled, stating, "Of course; this is a dream..."

"I agree with that notion," Loki added, though he still appeared to be distressed.

"Yeah," I said as I began to pace the floor, "I fell asleep, pointlessly reading that profile, so my mind is connecting that character to your appearance. Wow, for the two brief times I've encountered you, I definitely memorized every single detail. You almost look like the real deal."

Chuckling darkly, Loki stated with a hint of roughness to his voice, "Oh, I assure you, I am very much real."

"And why am I asleep?" I continued, looking down at the duplicate. "This is going to be a very bland dream if I do absolutely nothing."

Shaking his head, Loki said, "You're an even more dense mortal than I originally thought you to be."

Expressing confusion on my face, I said questionably, "Uh... Thanks...?"

Irritated, Loki explained, "Don't you see? You are asleep, and all that surrounds you is emphatically real."

"Well, yeah," I countered, "I fell asleep in the office. It would make sense that my mind would easily portray the last place that I've seen."

Loki seemed more annoyed by the second. Sighing, he declared, "If you cannot see, then I'll wake you and prove that-" As he approached the sleeping Tricia, I acted on instinct and stood in between them. To this, a wide smile flashed on Loki's face – allowing me to see his teeth up close – as he confirmed, "See? You are a projection of your own subconscious. You detected a threat to the host, so you defended."

What scared me was how absolutely sure Loki was, and the special dash of his dark personality did not help at all. "No," I replied, attempting to be defiant, "I just think I'd have a crude sense of humor if I watched myself get assaulted."

"I will not assault you, my dear," Loki assured me, daring to take another step.

"You just said I detected a threat, didn't you?" I countered, feeling incredibly intimidated by the man that stood less than a foot away from away.

Smirking, as a shadow curtained his face, Loki whispered, "I'll only be a threat if you beckon me..." If he was trying to distract me, it was definitely successful. He kept a piercing look on my own face, and in response, I looked around nervously. Even in dreams, I was easily under pressure. I never liked invading other people's spaces in reality, and men with dashing looks were significantly worse. While I was distraught, I noticed Loki pull out some sort of cane. He raised it, as though he was about to swing it.

As I realized what was happening, I demanded, "No, wait!"

Instantly, I sat up as I gasped for air. The first thing that I realized was how drenched in sweat I was. Calming my breathing pattern, I squinted my eyes as I activated the laptop. According to the clock, I was only asleep for about ten minutes. The dream that I had was certainly bizarre, and I was sure that if I immediately went back to bed, it would continue. I did not feel up to it, so I decided to take a shower before returning to bed.

Turning around in my seat, it took me a moment to realize that someone stood in front of me. Yelping, I startled backwards, bumping into the desk, as I looked up to see that it was Loki. He shrugged, as though he was proving a point.

That was when it clicked for me. "Wait a..." I gasped. "You mean my...?" In response to my obfuscation, Loki merely smirked. "Who are you?" The question was rather pointless, since I already figured it out anyhow.

"I am Loki, King of Asgard."


	6. Chapter 6

I love you all so much! Your reviews are utterly amazing, and they mean so much to me~~ ;~; Plus, for those that said I portrayed Loki so well, I especially thank you for that. I sometimes worry whether or not I make him sound Asgardian. :P The fact that people approve just makes me feel giggly inside. o3o

I wanted to say though, the last bit of chapter five was a bit rushed. Even if it doesn't seem that way to you, I was planning on adding a few extra stuff, like Tricia realizing that she was sleeping in the same position that she saw herself in from third perspective, and Loki changing into his Asgardian outfit. Oh well. :I

Also, I just looked back on the last chapter, and I realized a mistake. "I countered, feeling incredibly intimidated by the man that stood less than a foot away from away."

"...less than a foot away from away."

"...a foot away from _away_."

"...away from _**away**_."

Now the word "away" looks funny.

I really wish that would allow me to make edits to chapters, so I could fix these little pet peeves. ._.' I better try to not screw up this chapter.

Oh, and I know this is getting to be quite lengthy, but I just wanted to add that I graduated yesterday, so I guess this can be a graduation gift from me to you all. o3o

* * *

For a good, solid ten minutes, I had the reality of this situation explained to me. Apparently, I had been hanging out with the God of Mischief all day, and he used his magic to sneak into my house to spy on me. Just to further prove his point, Loki even changed into an outfit with a green cloak and golden armor. It all looked like it came straight from a fantasy world. Hell, this guy _was _from a fantasy world.

As a thought occurred to me, I trotted over to the couch before digging into my bag. Pulling out my sketchbook, I flipped to the most recent picture and pointed at it, saying, "Wait, is this you?" To this, Loki solemnly nodded. "Is that why you're here then? Did I see something that I wasn't supposed to? Was it that hammer?"

"You weren't supposed to see _me_," Loki informed me, making it obvious that he did not want to talk about my latter statement. "Yet, here we are, 24 hours later. I admit, it was incredibly arduous to track you down. Over three hundred million people reside in this nation alone, and I learned that I was searching for a secluded girl on the east coast." Loki made it sound completely ridiculous on how long it took to find me, but if I had my facts correct, he discovered me the morning after our first (technical) encounter. Then again, I had to consider that he was a sort of deity, and I do not know how simple it is for them to find specific targets.

Still left in disarray, I asked, "So, why didn't you let that train kill me? I mean, I saw you in a place I shouldn't have. I guess that makes me a witness, doesn't it?" I felt completely silly. This was not like the television shows that starred a gang of mobsters. This was a god, for goodness sake.

Smirking, Loki answered, "I was... curious. You are a wholly common Midgardian, yet there is something indifferent about you." Although I had no idea what he meant by "Midgardian", I believed that the term was mentioned on the Wikipedia page.

"You mean... that thing I do in my dreams...?" I said, looking down at the ground in dissatisfaction. "There's not much I can tell about it, so your guess is as good as mine." After a moment, I looked up at Loki, realizing that he was waiting for me to continue. Sitting on the couch, I placed the sketchbook to my side as I attempted to explicate, "I wasn't even aware that I've been doing that. I mean... Now that I think about it, my dreams have been a little repetitive. All I do is... walk around. Sometimes, I find myself drawn to something. Like last night, it was that hammer, I think, and when I passed out earlier, I just wanted to go home."

Loki officially entered the room, standing in front of me. He reminded me of a germaphobe, as though he was afraid to sit on the bare nakedness of my furniture. That, or he was a really stuck-up king that did not like to sit on commoner's furnishing. "Can you recall when these dreams first started linking to one another?" This man was certainly unbelievable. One minute, he acted like a demented, grievous creeper. The next, he seemed to be solicitous, like he was my therapist or something.

Looking down at the ground, pensive, I answered, "I hardly even remember most of my dreams." After a moment, a thought occurred to me. "Actually," I continued, "I used to have some amazing dreams... before..."

"Before...?" Loki pushed, cocking an eyebrow.

Sighing, I informed softly, "Several months ago, I... kind of had a near-death experience... It's really stupid, honestly. I passed out at prom. I don't even remember why. I guess there was something in the food. The doctors told me that I was in a coma for a couple of weeks, but I just remember feeling... desperate... I felt like I was walking in the dark for so long... I-I kept on thinking, "I don't want to die... Oh God, someone, please, I don't want to die..." I paused for a second, finding myself thinking intently. "My silent pleas were heard, apparently. I was given a second chance, to start fresh at life, but... Evidently, that last bit was literal." Looking up at the empty house, I continued, "Everyone that I was ever close to... suddenly disappeared... My mom, my siblings, my uncles..." Trailing off, I realized that I was unable to speak about the topic any longer.

"... What about your father?" Loki hesitantly brought up. If he did not add any input, I would have forgotten that he was there, despite the fact that he was in front of me.

Grimacing, I muttered, "No, he's still around. Apparently, I wasn't close enough for him to disappear off the face of the planet." This was a subject that I obviously wanted to avoid. I did not see my old man, and he did not see me. That was just the way it was.

Loki furrowed his brow, as though he was trying to understand how I was feeling. It was strange, to be fairly honest. When I quickly glanced at him, he had a subtle expression of sorrow, like I had touched a nerve.

Trying to cover myself up, I added, "It's no big deal, really. There are other people that have it worse than me."

"There very well might be," Loki stated, "but that's no reason why someone shouldn't lend you an ear." I looked up at him, astonished. It was one thing for me to be in the company of another, especially a mythological god, but this was the first time that I believed someone was actually listening to me.

Looking off to the side, I chuckled nervously as I muttered, "Stop, you're embarrassing me." Scratching my nose, I stood up as I said, "Well, it's getting late. You got your answers, and you're probably busy, so I shouldn't hold you up."

Loki gave a slight smirk, saying, "Who said you were?" Geez, this man was a definite tease. Did he intimidate other people like this, or was it just me? To keep on the safe, logical side, I was certain that I was not the only one. Turning around, he took a couple of steps towards the front door before hesitantly stopping. I hung my head to the side, raising an eyebrow. "If you desire to," he proposed, carefully deciding if his words were wise enough to say, "since I did intrude your home, perhaps I could take you to see mine..."

Wait, was he offering to take me to see his home? Asgard? If the connections were correct, Asgard was like another version of heaven. I highly doubted that I wanted to visit heaven any time soon, considering I barely escaped instant death that day. Besides, going to a fantasy world with a shady character that I basically just met sounded like a disaster waiting to happen.

"Nah," I declined, fiddling with my fingers as I stared down at the ground, "I got some stuff to do. Bills, groceries... Stuff like that." It was also that fear of leaving the house. So many possibilities could happen to it if I left for the unknown. There was also the fact that I was simply scared. You cannot really blame a girl, right? I mean, my world was scary enough. It did not matter what excuse I made up; the fact is I kept on making them.

When I did not receive a response, I looked up to realize that Loki was already gone. He left as quickly as he arrived, only this time, I actually understood the real explanation. It would have been simpler if I believed the whole ordeal was all made up in my mind. Even so, every fiber in my body decided against that, realizing the reality of it all.

"Bye," I murmured, feeling disappointed. Once again, I realized how eerily quiet it had always been.

* * *

(I was so close to using the verb "swagger" in this...)


	7. Chapter 7

Please keep leaving your reviews~ You have no idea how much they inspire me to continue this story. ;w;

Also, I've been brainstorming more fanfic ideas. One's involving Captain America, since I've recently developed a small crush on him. Also, I want to create an Asgardian OC to interact with Loki somehow. I don't know, they're very vague ideas, and I don't have any solid ground to take off on.

Also, I made a bit of an uh-oh in the last chapter. I called Asgard the equivalent of heaven, but I think it's actually supposed to be Valhalla. That's a good thing, though; it's actually perfect. I'm trying to keep the character like me as accurate as possible. I misinterpreted something, so naturally would the protagonist. See how perfect that is~? o3o

What are you still reading this for? Get back to the chapter! :D

* * *

It felt like I lied in my bed for hours, though in truth, it had only been thirty minutes. Laying in the dark, I could not sleep, due to everything that was on my mind. Today, if anything, was the most adventurous day of my life, to put it simply. A day with a Norse god... That would make an intriguing sitcom.

Turning to face the other direction, I hugged my teddy bear tightly in my grip. Loki was not the only highlight of my day. I discovered that I had an ability, something that little to no one had. My spirit or something would leave my body the moment I fell asleep, and I could roam wherever I desired. I felt dirty for thinking of all of the perverted things I could possibly do with this ability, so I rubbed my face into the pillow as I tried to get my head out of the gutty. It was all just so amusing to me. How did I go this long without realizing such a thing? Then again, I was one to cling onto the logical things in life, so I must have simply blown it off time and time again. I would have never recognized it, had it not been for Loki's own curiosity.

I frowned. I felt bad for not accepting his offer to go to Asgard. I was sure that it would have been a fantastic trip, but I was put on the spot, so I hesitated. Loki had to understand that it is not so simple for one to be taken from their home*, or at least I hoped so. Even so, a whole other world simply sent chills down my spine. For the king of that said world to come scrutinize me must be some sort of honor, right?

My brows furrowed as a thought occurred to me. Loki was the God of Mischief. Were all of my unfortunate events that occurred today due to him? He could have been testing me, trying to interpret my ability a bit clearer. It would have been a very reckless and selfish thing to do, considering I was not even aware of my own cognition.

I shook my head as I stared down at the teddy bear. No, I was not going to blame my problems on mythology. Even though I had a practical interaction with the god, it was no different than blaming things on legend. Of course, he was not imaginary or a myth, but still. Merely attempting to explain things to myself started to give me a migraine.

"Go to sleep, Tricia..." I mumbled, hugging the bear against my head to battle the headache. It no longer mattered anyhow. My life was going to resume to its normal, stressful ways again. I knew I had to face problems again in the morning, so the least that I could do was rest up. Holding the bear close to my chest, I coiled into the fetal position as I closed my eyes, repeatedly reminding myself to go to sleep.

I woke up with a jolt, breathing heavily into my pillow. I stared with wide eyes into the darkness, and my body was drenched in cold sweat. Did I have a bad dream? What happened? Sitting up, I held my hand up to my head, trying to recall what I did. However, it was of no use. Looking up, I noted that it was still late at night. If my dream was truly bad, then I could at least wait a few minutes before going back to sleep.

Leaving my bed, I felt my way around the darkness before reaching the dimly lit hallway. I figured that I could at least get me a glass of cool water to help me relax, so I made my way down the stairs. Halfway down, I ceased myself as a sense of anxiety lingered over me. Something seemed incredibly off, but I had not the slightest clue. I had no idea what was making me feel this way, and it admittedly scared me.

I snapped out of it as someone knocked on the front door. Taking a moment to process it, I became extremely curious. People hardly, if ever, come to visit me; who was visiting late at night? Cautiously, I crept down the stairs. As my foot softly rested on the ground, I faced the door to my immediate left. Before I could doubt that anyone was on the other side, another knock occurred, making me jump. I examined the door, confirming the chain lock had been secured. If it was some (strangely polite) burglar outside, they would not be able to stick their hand in very far, giving me time to call for help.

Wait, why was I going to answer the door? It was late at night, and any reasonable person would be asleep at this point. I should be pretending that I'm sleeping through the ruckus. Actually, I _should_ be sleeping through the ruckus.

As the mysterious visitor knocked once more, I quietly tip-toed into the living room. I crouched down beside the window, taking a deep breath. Ever-so-sneaky, I barely peeked behind the curtain to take a quick glimpse.

Red and blue lights – that was all that I had to see. Backing away from the window, my mind started jumping to conclusions. They were here about the train incident. They somehow traced what was left of Betty back to me. The police were actually sent with their lights on. I was in deep trouble, more than I feared I would be in.

Backing into a wall, my wide eyes stared at my knees as I brushed my hands through my hair, making my bangs crash against my forehead. No, I was over-thinking things. The police must be here for another, more logical reason. What have I done that would call their attention to me? Nothing, absolutely nothing. All I ever do is stay out of trouble. Perhaps there was a missing person, and they were simply going door-to-door to see if they can gather information. Yes, that must be it; that _has_ to be it.

Holding my head in my hands, I winced as one more knock was delivered. What would happen if I did not answer the door? Would they break it down? If I returned to bed, appearing to be sleeping like I should be, would they just wake me up? Honestly, I just wanted to hide in the darkest corner of the entire house. If they do take the option of breaking down the door, it would most likely not be good on my end if they find me hiding from them.

What do I do? What could I do? I was too terrified to move. Why could this not just be a dream? Why could I not have normal dreams? Why did I decide to wake up now? Can I wake up now? Why was reality this horrible and stressful?

"Aren't you going to answer that?" Startled, I peeked from behind my hands. As though I was not in an incredibly nerve-wracking moment, my mythological acquaintance was added to the equation.

"Loki..." I said, my voice cracking as I whispered. As my brows furrowed, I held my head again as I mumbled, "Leave me alone. I can't handle this. I can't handle a damn thing, and you being here is not helping whatsoever."

Quirking an eyebrow, Loki asked at a soft level, "How am I not helping-"

"At this point, my life has literally been a train wreck," I interrupted him rashly, "and I have no idea what I'm supposed to do. You just had to take an interest in me, didn't you? You couldn't just let me die in that car? I don't even care what your business is with that hammer or whatever. I just want to be left alone, I just... I want everyone to leave me alone." I had an unbelievable urge to cry. I felt the liquid well up behind my eyes, begging to be released. I refused to move my eyes too much, in fear that some of the tears may be released due to it. Wait, why would I fear that when there are cops right outside my house?

As another, more rough-sounding knock rang out, it pushed me enough to silently shed a single tear. Barely making any eye contact with Loki, I murmured, "I did nothing wrong. I've done nothing wrong. Why am I so scared?" At this point, I realized how awful I was trembling. I must have looked absolutely pitiful. On the verge of tears, and I was too frightened to answer the stupid door.

"Have you always been this overreactive?" Loki inquired. I was too shaken to give a proper response. Hesitant, he slowly placed his hand on my knee. I froze, though my breaking point prevented me from reacting any more. "What if I could offer you a place to call sanctuary?" he suggested, looking at me with his turquoise eyes. "Come with me, to Asgard. I can guarantee you a place to be at peace, even if you only wish it to be temporary." He was doing it again, offering to take me to a different world.

Placing my hands between my chest and my thighs, I shook my head as I stuttered, "I-I can't... I can't just leave my house, my home... I can't..." My weary eyes widened as Loki caressed my cheek, wiping away the tear that I had.

"I deemed it may be temporary," he explained, looking at me with a soft, sympathetic expression. "You can stay for as long as you desire, and at the end, I will return you home safely. I only offer you a short-term salvation. I... cannot stand to see you as a prisoner of your own home." Removing his hand from my cheek, Loki held his palm up, offering me to take it. I stared at his hand blankly, taking a moment to register everything. An escape from reality was sitting in front of me, and I was indecisive in taking it.

There was another knock, and this one seemed to echo more than the rest. "What about them...?" I asked, refusing to look over at the door.

Lightly smirking, Loki answered, "Don't worry, I will take care of it." The god was giving his word, making this seem like a perfectly acceptable choice. Was I really going to put all of my trust in him?

Taking a deep breath, I made my choice as I grabbed his hand.

* * *

* Oh, the hue-manatee! ;~; /seacreaturepunsftw


	8. Chapter 8

HOLY CRAP, THIS CHAPTER HAS OVER TWO THOUSAND WORDS. :O

Don't forget to leave a review and whatnot! They inspire me like no other! :D

Tricia makes a lot of movie references in this chapter, it's not even funny. I guess it's to prove the point that I watch a lot of movies, but I think I might have overdone it.

So, if you noticed in the movie, after Loki rides that horse to the Bifrost right before the final battle, the horse just disappears. Where did it go? What if that poor horse was still on that end of the bridge when Thor destroyed it? The horse probably just went "Fuck you guys" and flew away. Yep. :I

Okay, read and review! :D

* * *

"Just hold onto me tightly, and do not let go or breath a single word until I say."

"O... Okay..."

What was I getting myself into? Loki instructed me to hold onto his arm, and so I did. The whole ordeal seemed uneasy to me. Were we simply going to teleport to another realm within a blink of the eye, or was it more complex than that? Was it going to be smooth and simple, or was it going to be loud and destructive, like in the movie Jumper? We were still in my living room, and I do not think that I would like a small crater to be left in the floor and the objects around us.

When Loki glanced down at me, I noticed how tight my arms gripped around his own. I attempted to calm my nerves, but it was essentially futile. "Are you scared?" he asked. To this, my only response was my fingers twitching. Any person would be scared to venture into the unknown; it was common sense. Being the person that I am, I was exaggerating the fear, thinking of all the infinity negatives that could possibly occur. My entire body was too tense. Cocking his head to the side, Loki smirked. "Do not fret, we will arrive there in one piece. I've promised you your safety, have I not?" Glancing up at his well-structured face for a quick second, I responded with a hesitant nod. His smile stretched a bit more as he adjusted his grip on his scepter. "Just follow my instructions. We shall be there soon enough."

I was absolutely assured, though that did not ease my anxiousness. I constricted his arm, just as he told me to, though I was positive that I was cutting off the blood flow. This was it. Within the second, I was going to cross the line in the dirt that separated reality from something more. How well would I be able to adjust to it? Would I be able to cope? Hopefully, whatever sort of dimension I was about to enter does not drive me to madness. Burying my fingertips into the fabric of his sleeve, I took a deep, uneasy breath.

It happened without a moment's notice. There was no transition, or any sort of explosion. It was like cutting to the next scene. One second, we were standing in my dark, quiet living room. The next, we were in some sort of vortex. It was like the opening of Doctor Who, except there were no clouds that formed a spiral passage. It was a straight path made of light that ranged in its hues, and it was almost like going into hyperspace.

Despite instantly realizing these details, a dreadful tug was lingering in the pit of my stomach. We were going incredibly fast, almost as though we were traveling at the speed of light. Afraid of being sucked away, I held onto Loki's arm for dear life. I was never a fan of roller coasters. In fact, when I was forced to ride them as a kid, I cried from first entering the horrendous lines to long after we leave the exit. This is what it felt like – I was riding the world's most steepest roller coaster. Surely, that was not the case, since we were no longer in the world, and the slope was, in fact, going upward. I pinned my eyes closed, burying my face into his arm as I prayed for it to be over soon.

Suddenly, everything was quiet and still. The unnerving tug in my stomach had ceased, though a small sample had still remained. Tense, my eyes reluctantly opened as I peeked from behind Loki's arm. We certainly were not in Kansas anymore. (Not that we were, but you understand the reference.) Instead of the small, average-sized room that I was standing in not ten seconds ago, we were standing in an enormous, brass-colored dome, much like an observatory. Barely turning my head, I looked behind us to see a colorful portal raging about. That must have been the vortex that we had traveled through.

"What troubles you, gatekeeper?" Raising a questioning eyebrow, I looked up at Loki, only to realize that he was not addressing me. Looking forward, I saw a man standing in the center of the room, wielding a sword vertically in front of him. He wore armor that matched the color scheme of the entire room, and he had eyes that were as vivid as the sun. He peered at Loki, though it felt like he was staring into the very etch of my soul.

Loki's directions rang through my head once again. Holding my breath, I carefully hid in a secluded spot between his arm and his cloak. The man across from us was certainly intimidating, I felt I had to physically hide. Thankfully, Loki was a whole head taller than me. It was like hiding behind a giant. (Actually, the Wikipedia page mentioned something about him being a giant. Was this what it meant?)

"I turned my gaze upon you in Jotunheim," the man stated, his deep voice emitting off the walls, "but could neither see you or hear you. You were shrouded from me like the frost giants that had entered this realm." Frost giants? Wait, they must have been the jotuns that I had read about. Did that mean...?  
Before I could piece things together, Loki faintly smirked as he replied, "Perhaps your senses have weakened after your many years of service." As he began to advance across the floor, I did my ultimate best to follow him without tripping over his feet or stepping on his cloak.

Void of any emotion, the gatekeeper added, "Or perhaps someone has found a way to hide that which he does not wish me to see." Loki stopped in his tracks, and I did as well without bumping into him.

Glancing back at the other man, Loki inquired, "You wield great power, Heimdall. Tell me, did Odin fear you?"

After a pause, the man, Heimdall, answered, "No."

"Why not?" Loki was endeavoring to push the other's buttons. It would seem foolish to do so, comparing one's figure with the other. I recalled that Loki claimed to be the king, so maybe this is where his pride came from.

A second passed before Heimdall responded, "Because he is my king, and I am sworn to obey him."

"He _was_ your king," Loki corrected him, a serious look growing on his face, "and now you are sworn to obey me, yes?" The air had never felt so thick. Tension vibrated off of the walls, and the intensity of the situation made me shiver.

Finally, Heimdall obliged, "Yes."

Turning away from him, I almost had a difficult time keeping up with Loki as he charged out of the room, commanding, "Good. Then you'll open the Bifrost to no one!" Daring to look back, I saw that Heimdall did not follow us with those scorching eyes of his. Even so, from a distance, they were not unnoticeable. It was rather unsettling.

"You may speak in a whisper," Loki murmured softly.

I faced forward to ask my first question, but whatever I had to say faded away, leaving my mouth ajar. I most definitely stepped into a storybook. It was like an enormous, prosperous city had settled in the middle of the galaxy. Every color that could be seen by the human eye – and more – had donned the endless sky, if it was even fair to call it a sky.

As my eyes trailed along the galactic scenery, I noticed a large body of water. It ran off the edge as a waterfall to what seemed to be nothing but space. In fact, as I inspected it further, it indeed did so; water was running off the edge of the world. Looking down, I realized that the crystallized bridge that we stood on was over the edge, quite literally.

My insides reminded me how nauseous I felt, resulting in my knees feeling weak. "Are you feeling well?" Loki asked, his face looking rather smug.

"Yeah," I hesitantly answered, trying to keep my head up in order to focus on the magnificent city ahead. "This place is... unbelievable."

Chuckling, Loki responded, "Indeed it is. I have lived here all my life, and Asgard's beauty never fails to impress me." _Impress_ was certainly an understatement, even for a god. Staring up at the sky again, a faint smile creased on my lips. It was absolutely marvelous. Just thinking about how many colored pencils it would take to even sketch the horizon enticed me.

Of course, my scumbag brain had to drag me back to the ground. I recalled a couple of dreams I had when I was very young, in which the car that we were in would drive off of the bridge. At the very least, those bridges had some barriers – this, at the moment, was like walking on a monstrous, linear crystal. What was to say I could not simply slide off the edge into the water, then infinite darkness?

"Are we walking the entire way there?" I asked, my nerves obviously on edge.

A smirk creeping on his face, Loki replied, "Why? Don't you enjoy long walks with me?" I really wish he would stop that. I turned my head away, hiding my potentially blushed cheeks, but I felt queasy again at the sight of the waterfall. "Do not worry, we will travel by horse." Perplexed, I glanced up at him before recognizing that a black stallion was just standing off to the side. How long had that been there?

Approaching the animal, I analyzed it curiously. I highly doubted that I had any experience riding a horse before. I mean, I rode a few ponies in my time, but I was less than the age of ten during that period. Stroking the horse's coat, Loki took the reign in hand before facing me.

As it dawned on me, I stated bluntly, "I'm not getting on that thing."

"You must," Loki said, a rather stern look in his face. "My magic can only do so much to shield your existence from unwanted eyes," – he glanced back at the dome-shaped place – "and it would look silly if I assisted someone that was not seen onto the horse's back. Of course, unless you'd rather walk." I bit my bottom lip. He did have a point there. Facing the raven black creature, I reluctantly approached it. If I placed just enough force into my jump, then I _might _be able to climb onto his back. Placing my hands on it, I stood there, trying to mentally prepare myself. I was going to get on this horse, whether I liked it or not. Any second now. Within the day. Any time.

My indecisiveness had to pay. Without any warning, an unseen force lifted me off the surface of the bridge and placed me on top of the horse. A small yelp escaped from me, and as I gripped the horse's coat for balance, I covered my mouth, hoping that I did not ruin anything. Instead, Loki smirked at me before climbing onto the horse as well, sitting behind me. I would be lying if I said I did not feel like one of the hobbits from the Lord of the Rings, especially considering the height differences.

"Sorry," Loki muttered by the side of my head, "but you were taking up time." He leaned forward to reach the reigns, making me freeze as his chest pressed against my back. "Do try not to fall," he advised. Flicking his wrists, the horse reacted as it leaped into a sprint. Even though Loki's arms were on each side of me, I feared that I would fall. The only thing that I could do to ensure myself was grip the horse's coat, but that was not enough. Even so, it had to do.

Now that I had thought about it, when did Loki's scepter disappear? He probably used his magic to make it disappear, but while we are on that topic, why did he not just teleport us to the other side of the bridge? Why was there literally an end of the world? Why was there a strobe light crystal as a bridge?

I really could not wrap my mind around this. Magic and fantasy were once an easy concept to grasp, but now that it had become my reality, I had never become more baffled in my life.

* * *

Secret A/N:

I don't think I'm ever going to explain it in the story itself, so I might as well state it here. Loki had been multi-tasking, using a clone to go to Jotunheim in his place. He cloaked the fact that he was actually on Midgard, and they teleported as Heimdall opened the Bifrost for the clone, so it would seem as though he himself went to Jotunheim alone.


End file.
